Kokopelli on the Water, Eagle in the Tree

This was the view from outside our cabin this morning...

And here's my newly much more ergonomic workstation from which to view it! More ergonomic--I didn't say "more tidy!"One of my journals doubles as mouse mat, and there are maybe three other notebooks in view, as well as at least four "in use" books and drinking vessels perilously close by.

It was a pretty big low tide, and that gravel spit on the beach below reminds me of Kokopelli when it gets exposed--land and water in a musical dance. So cool that the curlicue of ice drifting west almost mirrors the Kokopelli shape of the land! Yes, all kinds of elemental metaphors there.

It's the fourth day of thaw here, and there are supposed to be a couple more before it cools down again. Still a lot of snow everywhere, but it's packed down and pockmarked, and paths are icy. Phil hacked little heel-shaped divots here and there in the paths, without which it would be a near-straight luge run from the cul-de-sac all the way to bluff's edge!

Phil actually went a little ways up this tree today too, trying to get a good photo of the iceberg pictured above. He claimed the tree wasn't slick at all, being dried out from the cold, but I found that hard to believe with every other outdoor step being a slide.

I watched this eagle for quite a while, before our neighbors' big goofy dog came galumphing down and it decided it had better places to be.

Even if just for a few moments, and with camera in hand as an excuse, it was good to pause and be.

I still have a sore throat and runny nose, and am still not much for sleeping despite that. Maybe the cold comes from teaching, but also many people close to our recently bereaved friends, themselves included, have come down with some similar coldy-fluey symptoms. Today has been a day in which I've worked hard but illogically. I have two extra pieces of editing this week besides my normal jobs, and a packet due in just less than a week, and I kept finding myself compulsively translating Greek dictionary entries when that's the one job with no current time pressure. I begged off socializing tonight to stay home, nurse my throat, and finish writing a lecture, and now "the isle is full of noises," the weasels are having a party in the insulation, the rain pounding on the snow falling off the roof, and the only way I can escape full-on paranoia is either to lull myself with translating or to go work on a poem.

I think I'll go finish my last few slides for the lecture and then write. Be back Friday with a super-easy and good recipe.

Beauty and Humor, and Coconut Whiskey

Thanks for the kind words on the previous post. I wanted to share some beauty and some humor today: beauty from some of our recent hikes, and humor as part of the Holiday recap. As I mentioned last year, one of our holiday traditions is to model an "unusual" or "alternative" use of a gift, and there are some funny pictures. I will also, as Amber requested, share some more about the coconut whiskey.

The eagles are moving in closer as the hungry season sets in.

 It's amazing to me how still they sit. They spend 75% of their lives perching.

 Meanwhile, the water has all but stopped flowing. Stalactites are so beautiful.

As for funny uses of gifts, of course I have to start with Phil! He is just the funniest. This is a seat-cover for one of our Poang chairs that he unwrapped. He first put it on his head as a turban, which was pretty funny, but then, partly through the whim of the camera, this pose turned out even funnier.

Leslie and I both received beautiful shawls, and we stood up and gave our rendition of "We Two Queens of Orient are" between giggles...

 Amy turned her trivet into a sun-worshiper's ornament. I would never have guessed that that wasn't its intended purpose...

 Until Sandra grabbed both trivets and went one better.

The spatula bouquet is just so funny because apparently all of us had noticed that Leslie was short on spatulas, so we all gave her spatulas. When she unwrapped the first ones, I leaned over to Amy and whispered "I got her some, too." She whispered back, "So did I!" So we were giggling a little before she even opened them.

 Amy's scarf was a great hideout for Roxy also.

 

Now, about that coconut whiskey!

I mentioned in my holiday post last year that I'd made this amazing mostly raw, vegan pina colada mix (basically almond milk, coconut milk, dash of sweetener, pineapple and pineapple flavor extract). I also mentioned that Amy adores pina coladas but finds rum makes her sleepy, though she loves whiskey. So last year, since she was also avoiding sugar at the time, I made coconut whiskey with a homemade xylitol syrup. 

This year, I made it again but with sugar syrup, because that's where she's at right now. You can do it either way, and it's sort of out of my usual ballpark.

Make a syrup from a cup and a half of sugar or xylitol and 3/4 cup water (i.e. two parts sweetener to one part water). Simmer them together for about five minutes.

Let the syrup cool until you can touch it, but don't let it get cold. 

Add three-four cups whisky and two teaspoons coconut flavoring, and blend all together. It's great served chilled, and it's awesome with the pina colada mix.